31 Best Holi Recipes

Collection of 31 Holi recipes – Wishing everyone a happy and safe Holi this time. As much as I love colors, I also like the festival of Holi with everyone celebrating and sharing the warmth, joy, love and happiness.

Holi is one festival in which people celebrate together without bringing the caste, color or social status in mind.

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Holi is a festival of colors celebrated all around India in different forms but with the same intensity of joy, togetherness and love. This year Holi festival is falling on 10th March, 2020. Chhoti Holi or Holika Dahan is on 9th March and the rangwali (color celebration) Holi is on March 10.

Here in this post, I am sharing 31 recipes that are made during Holi festival in different regions of India. Wishing happy Holi to all readers.

Note: while playing Holi, it is better to avoid hard colors and play with soft colors like gulal. But some people deliberately use strong hard color which is difficult to clean later on and spoil the skin. One common trick which people use to minimize the effect of hard color is to rub mustard oil in their skin before going out to play Holi. The thin layer of oil on the skin make sure that the hard color goes off from the skin easily without much rubbing.

If possible then use eco-friendly colors that are easily available in the market. Enjoy this festival of colors and spread love and peace around you.

Top 1o Holi recipes

1. Gujiya recipe – This is a Holi Special Sweet Snack. It is a deep-fried pastry stuffed with a sweet filling of khoya. Gujiya is very much popular in north India, especially during Holi festival. It is not they are made only during Holi. They are also made during Diwali.

2. Thandai recipe – This is an easy recipe of refreshing thandai drink for the Holi festival. Thandai is a traditional drink, popular in the northern parts of India. Its made with a mix of dry fruits, seeds and a few spices. Thandai is not only made for Holi but also for Maha Shivratri. The drink is known for its cooling properties and is one of the popular drink served during Holi.

3. Malpua recipe – This is a traditional North Indian sweet of soft, fluffy and yet crisp pancakes coated with sugar syrup and served with Rabri or thickened sweetened milk. Malpuas have to be served hot or warm. Other Sweet recipes you can make for Holi celebration are:

4. Kachori recipe – Flaky and tasty kachoris made with spiced moong lentils stuffing. Kachori is basically deep-fried bread. There are many varieties of kachori recipes in Indian cuisine and moong dal kachori is a popular one.

5. Lassi recipe – This is an easy yet tasty drink that you can make to welcome your guests. Lassi is a cooling and refreshing drink to have in the summers. It is quite popular in Punjab and north India.

6. Dahi bhalla – This is a popular North Indian snack of dahi bhalla papdi chaat. You can serve dahi bhalla chilled as a snack or a starter for your guests for the Holi Party.

7. Matar kachori – This is a flaky, crisp deep fried pastry filled with spiced peas filling. The matar kachori filling can be varied from savory to sweet, from potato & peas to lentils and even onions. Few more similar recipes which you can make for Holi festival are

8. Gulab jamun – It is a favorite Indian dessert for many folks. In parties, weddings and even in Indian thalis, gulab jamun happens to be one of the desserts served after the meals. They are also made during festive occasions like Diwali or Holi.

9. Dahi vada – it is a popular North Indian snack that is made during special occasions and also during Holi festival. This tasty snack consist of fried urad dal dumplings dunked in a creamy whipped curd which is topped with spicy and sweet chutneys. Other snacks you can make with curd for Holi festival are:

10. Papdi chaat – It is one of the popular and tasty North Indian street food. This snack can be prepared easily if you have the ingredients ready. Its made with papdis, boiled chickpeas, potatoes, pakoris and curd.

Snacks recipes for Holi festival

1. Paneer tikka – Spiced marinated cottage cheese cubes pan fried on a tawa or griddle. Few more delicious paneer snacks recipes you can make for Holi festival party are:

4. Samosa recipe – These Punjabi samosa are flaky and crispy from outside with a tasty potato and peas stuffing.

5. Hara bhara kabab – These tasty kababs are made from spinach, peas and potatoes. They are nutritious as well as delicious. An easy finger food that can be served as a brunch or also as a starter for Holi Party.

6. Pani puri recipe– a popular street food of India, where crisp fried dough balls are stuffed with potatoes, sprouts, spicy tangy water and sweet chutney. With so many burst of tastes and flavors in your mouth when you have pani puri, you just cannot have one :-). Here the recipe is of Mumbai style pani puri and not the Delhi style Gol gappa. other similar chaat snacks which are popular in Mumbai are:

7. Vada pav – It is one of the most humble street food of Mumbai, yet it is tasty and delicious. Vada pav basically has Batata vada which is sandwiched between two slices of a pav, along with sweet chutney, green chutney and dry garlic chutney.

8. Jal jeera recipe – Jal jeera is a very popular drink from North India. It is very cooling and is made by many people during the summers.

9. Aloo poori – Traditional Punjabi spiced potato curry served with pooris. The combo of aloo poori with sooji halwa is very popular in north India. If you want to treat your guests with a lavish meal then try aloo poori with sooji ka halwa and sweet lassi.

10. Paneer pakora – These pakoras are crisp from outside and soft from inside. Best for Holi Party.

11. Mathri recipe – Mathri or mathiya is a popular tea time snack in north India. This recipe is for Punjabi style mathri which is flaky and is spiced with carom seeds, black pepper, kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) and cumin. You can serve them with tea or coffee.

12. Namak pare – These savory and fried flour crispies are popular tea time snack in north India. There is also a sweet version and these are called as Shakkar pare.

13. Bread pakora – This is a popular snack recipe of bread stuffed with a filling of mashed & spiced potatoes, dipped in besan and then deep fried. Other bread snacks recipes you can make for Holi festival party are:

14. Matar kulcha – This is one of the popular street food of North India, especially in Delhi and Amritsar. You might see many street vendors selling matar kulcha in roads or even outside schools and colleges. Other similar recipes which are popular are:

Sweets recipes for Holi festival

1. Puran poli – it is one of the most popular Maharashtrian recipe that is made during the festive occasion. Puran poli is a flatbread stuffed with a sweet lentil filling made from chana dal and jaggery. Another similar recipe made in South India is – Bobbatlu Recipe.

2. Phirni recipe – This is a classic creamy sweet pudding made with ground rice, milk, almonds, saffron, sugar and cardamom. It is a must in North India on festive occasions like Holi, Diwali or special celebrations.

3. Rice kheer recipe – This is a favorite Indian dessert made with basmati rice, milk, nuts and saffron. We Indians look forward to kheer, halwa or ladoos during the festive time.

4. Seviyan kheer – If you are looking for an easy and quick sweet to make then try this kheer recipe. Semiya kheer also known as vermicelli kheer is a popular kheer variety made during festive occasions all over India. This is an easy recipe and gets done in 20 minutes. For more delicious kheer recipes, you can check this collection of 24 kheer recipes.

5. Suji ka halwa – It is a quick, easy and delicious halwa variety made with rava, ghee and dry fruits. The South Indian version of sooji halwa is Rava kesari which is also equally popular.

6. Jalebi – This jalebi recipe gives you one of the best homemade jalebis – crisp, crunchy, syrupy and juicy jalebi. The method shared in this post is the traditional method for making jalebi.

7. Rasmalai recipe – It is one of the popular and delicious Bengali sweet where Rasgulla are soaked in thickened and sweetened milk.

namaste and welcome to vegrecipesofindia.com which i started in feb 2009 and is a pure vegetarian blog. i have been passionate about cooking from childhood and began to cook from the age of 10. later having enrolled in a home science degree greatly enhanced my cooking & baking skills and took it to a different level which i now share as foolproof recipes. i was formally trained both in mainstream indian as well as international cuisines.

Namaste. I am the chef and author of Veg Recipes of India. I shared, tried & tested Indian as well as world vegetarian recipes in a detailed step by step photos, which will help you to make delicious, tasty and tasty vegetarian food easily. READ MORE